Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Are you ready for Autumn? September DT kits are almost ready!
As the end of summer nears, the days get a bit shorter, the nights a bit cooler, making getting outdoors all the more inviting. For this month's Design Team kit, I went with a true "Virgo" line - playing to my earth sign completely (yes, its my birthday month, too!) This month's kit begs for nature layouts with soft, earthy muted colors in blues, browns, greens and reds. Think about layouts highlighting your home, nature, outdoor activities, etc. as well as photos of all those men in our lives. And don't forget about all those heritage photos you've been meaning to scrap. This line is just perfect for them!
Nearly everything in this kit comes from the Anna Griffin "Sierra" line....Printed cardstock, patterned kraft paper, wooden brads, jute, leather, tape "ribbons", golden resin pieces, dimensional stickers, currugated photos corners, etc. The kit includes Chantilly Lace cardstock in tan, burgany and brown, as well as wooden monogram letters from Kaiser crafts.
So start your planning and get ready for a break from pastels and pinks. Its time to get woodsy in our creations. Kits are ready for the long Labor Day weekend and available for pick up by DT members Friday evening and due back to the store by September 15. Enjoy!
Monday, August 25, 2008
Summer Sunshine layout with stitching template
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Recently restocked at Scrapbooks Plus are the stitching templates, needles, paper piercers, piercing mats, and colored floss from the Bazzill Stitch'z line. And I've been taking many customers back to the Design Team display board to show them how I used the large flower stitching template on my two-page layout this month. So I thought I would share this technique here, too.
For these two pages, I chose the plain green and yellow reverse sides of two American Crafts "Spring and Summer Collection" papers from our August Design Team kit and cut them into larger and narrower strips to alternate across the width of the layout. I wanted a late summer feel to the colors so I could use a few of my butterfly photos, since I enjoy their company so much in my garden. For my photo mat, I offset a 9" x 12" portion of the scalloped green-and-white swirl paper, adding a scalloped edge to the cut side. With leftover strips of the green swirl paper, I added a few more scalloped edges to soften the straight cuts. The strip of deep pink dotted fabric helps to settle the eye and connect the other pinks.
In the negative space left over on the right page of the layout, I continued the idea of the swirly "butterfly path" lines by using the Bazzill Stitch'z template to outline part of the flower design. The templates make this technique very simple. You place your paper on a piercing mat, then position your template over the section of paper you wish to pierce, and follow the already-punched holes in the template to pierce your paper holes. You can use as much or little of the template as you choose. Here I used a third of the three-flower design, but you could use only one flower outline, or any other part. And there are many other template designs to choose from.
With embroidery floss (there are 7 colors in the store, available by the yard or the whole roll), you sew a running backstitch to complete the design. That means you 1) bring your threaded floss needle up in one hole, 2) take a stitch back and down through the preceding hole, 3) run your thread under the paper forward again for two holes and 4) bring your needle up in the next clear hole from where you came up before. Then backstitch again down through the preceding hole, run forward under two holes, and come up in the next clear hole. You won't want to make your thread too long because it tends to knot up on itself or get caught on the corners of your layout. To change threads, just leave a tail of thread on the underside of your paper and anchor it under several backstitches; don't knot it. Needleworkers will tell you to let your thread dangle every once in a while to stretch out its kinks.
To finish the layout, I used the little "sunshine" stamp, a couple ribbon loops for horizontal effect, some silk flowers, photo corners, and butterflies cut with Martha Stewart punches. The big green swirls are from a Sizzix die.
Recently restocked at Scrapbooks Plus are the stitching templates, needles, paper piercers, piercing mats, and colored floss from the Bazzill Stitch'z line. And I've been taking many customers back to the Design Team display board to show them how I used the large flower stitching template on my two-page layout this month. So I thought I would share this technique here, too.
For these two pages, I chose the plain green and yellow reverse sides of two American Crafts "Spring and Summer Collection" papers from our August Design Team kit and cut them into larger and narrower strips to alternate across the width of the layout. I wanted a late summer feel to the colors so I could use a few of my butterfly photos, since I enjoy their company so much in my garden. For my photo mat, I offset a 9" x 12" portion of the scalloped green-and-white swirl paper, adding a scalloped edge to the cut side. With leftover strips of the green swirl paper, I added a few more scalloped edges to soften the straight cuts. The strip of deep pink dotted fabric helps to settle the eye and connect the other pinks.
In the negative space left over on the right page of the layout, I continued the idea of the swirly "butterfly path" lines by using the Bazzill Stitch'z template to outline part of the flower design. The templates make this technique very simple. You place your paper on a piercing mat, then position your template over the section of paper you wish to pierce, and follow the already-punched holes in the template to pierce your paper holes. You can use as much or little of the template as you choose. Here I used a third of the three-flower design, but you could use only one flower outline, or any other part. And there are many other template designs to choose from.
With embroidery floss (there are 7 colors in the store, available by the yard or the whole roll), you sew a running backstitch to complete the design. That means you 1) bring your threaded floss needle up in one hole, 2) take a stitch back and down through the preceding hole, 3) run your thread under the paper forward again for two holes and 4) bring your needle up in the next clear hole from where you came up before. Then backstitch again down through the preceding hole, run forward under two holes, and come up in the next clear hole. You won't want to make your thread too long because it tends to knot up on itself or get caught on the corners of your layout. To change threads, just leave a tail of thread on the underside of your paper and anchor it under several backstitches; don't knot it. Needleworkers will tell you to let your thread dangle every once in a while to stretch out its kinks.
To finish the layout, I used the little "sunshine" stamp, a couple ribbon loops for horizontal effect, some silk flowers, photo corners, and butterflies cut with Martha Stewart punches. The big green swirls are from a Sizzix die.
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Saturday, August 23, 2008
Another Idea to Play with Hambly
Love Erin's ideas for Hambly. I used the strip of two rows of circles to frame some of the action photos of my son boogie boarding. I printed a number of action shots in either 2" x 2" or 2" x 4" size and cut pieces of patterned paper in the same sizes. I then created a 4 inch strip of photos and papers for my page. The Hambly overlay was perfect to frame some of the action. I adhered the Hambly horiziontally down the center using a thin line of Zip Dry glue. Then I covered the glue with a strip of ric rac on top of the Hambly.
This technique is great for sporting events of kids as well - a great way to highlight a set of action photos where you just can't choose which one to use. I say, use them all, and then pick the very best one to enlarge for your focal point. I think I'll use this design again for my son's very first touchdown he made this morning. Go Nicky!!
Friday, August 22, 2008
Playing with Hambly
I don't know about you... but I have a number of those cool Hambly overlays that I've purchased and carefully socked away. They are not being used in part because I like them SO much that I'm afraid to cut them (what if I mess them up, after all?!). The other reason that they are stuck in my stash is that I'm I little afraid of using them... they are a little bit intimidating. When Nancy said that she was going to be adding a little bit of Hambly into out kits I was excited... and I was determined to actually utilize them!
Now the Hambly sheets are clear... so you have to think of how you will attach them early on in the design process. You can always hide your adhesive by placing it behind overlapping pieces. Other ideas are to sew them on, staple them, use brads or eyelets to attach them, or use adhesive over the entire back - like a Xyron - to make it less noticable. Both of the projects I made using my Hambly pieces hid the glue behind overlapping parts.
The first project was a 2 page layout. I decided to use the circles in the Hambly overlay to hold each of the letters of my title. I love the American Crafts paper because all you need is just a little bit and it has a great impact... and you have lots of scraps left for other projects! A little rick rack, some American Crafts rubons, and doodling finished it off.
The second project was a card front. I cut out just one of the circles from the overlay and used it as an accent to my large punch and as a home for my little, chipboard birdie. The birdie is painted white and sprinkled with a little bit of white glitter. The card also features the "Sunshine" stamp from Imaginesce. Love these stamps and I am a little addicted to picking them up... they are so cute and inexpensive that they are irrisistible!
A note on cards: I usually make just the front of the card and then attach it to a purchased plain white or cream card. This way it's easy to get a nice square front ... because sometimes the cards aren't perfectly square. It also helps keep the inside neat since you can hide stitching and brad backs without the inside of your card looking messy. Plus, as a bonus, you can always easily write on the inside even if your card front is a dark color!
Happy scrapping!
erin
Now the Hambly sheets are clear... so you have to think of how you will attach them early on in the design process. You can always hide your adhesive by placing it behind overlapping pieces. Other ideas are to sew them on, staple them, use brads or eyelets to attach them, or use adhesive over the entire back - like a Xyron - to make it less noticable. Both of the projects I made using my Hambly pieces hid the glue behind overlapping parts.
The first project was a 2 page layout. I decided to use the circles in the Hambly overlay to hold each of the letters of my title. I love the American Crafts paper because all you need is just a little bit and it has a great impact... and you have lots of scraps left for other projects! A little rick rack, some American Crafts rubons, and doodling finished it off.
The second project was a card front. I cut out just one of the circles from the overlay and used it as an accent to my large punch and as a home for my little, chipboard birdie. The birdie is painted white and sprinkled with a little bit of white glitter. The card also features the "Sunshine" stamp from Imaginesce. Love these stamps and I am a little addicted to picking them up... they are so cute and inexpensive that they are irrisistible!
A note on cards: I usually make just the front of the card and then attach it to a purchased plain white or cream card. This way it's easy to get a nice square front ... because sometimes the cards aren't perfectly square. It also helps keep the inside neat since you can hide stitching and brad backs without the inside of your card looking messy. Plus, as a bonus, you can always easily write on the inside even if your card front is a dark color!
Happy scrapping!
erin
Hidden Mickeys?
I picked up my kit on the way home from Dulles after spending a week in California. Needless to say I had Disney on my mind. And as soon as I pulled this paper out of the packet, I knew it would be perfect for Disney pages. Look at all those "hidden Mickeys!" Hidden Mickeys are the Mickey Mouse head and ears concealed in the design of an attraction at Disney. And while we were too busy to look for these at the park, I sure saw quite a few in this American Crafts paper.
Not seeing it? How about now...
For this layout, to accentuate the "mickeys" I cut several out of the paper, coated them with Ranger's Glossy Accents, then adhered them to the layout with pop dots. And the stripes on the scalloped American Crafts paper is just perfect for journaling!
Not seeing it? How about now...
For this layout, to accentuate the "mickeys" I cut several out of the paper, coated them with Ranger's Glossy Accents, then adhered them to the layout with pop dots. And the stripes on the scalloped American Crafts paper is just perfect for journaling!
How to Hook a Worm
This month's DT kit was really so inspiring to me. I love American Crafts- their bright, bold designs are so much fun to use! This LO was inspired by my niece trying to teach my son's how to bait a hook with a worm. I used a transparency journaling block from Prima, but when I put it on the LO it didn't "pop" enough for me so I painted the back edges with an Adirondack Paint Dabber and backed it with a piece of white card stock- I attached the card stock with Zip Dry Glue since it dries clear. I love the way that you can paint on a transparency to make it custom to the project that you are creating. I used Grungeboard arrows covered with Doodlebug Glitter in Limeade-the glitter is available at ScrapbooksPlus- to follow the pictures of the LO.
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